Distance OR Regular MBA

“The interested person will do what is convenient. The committed person will do whatever it takes”

We can highlight the main points to discuss the difference between a regular and a distance MBA program.

Mode of Study: The fundamental difference between a Regular full time MBA program and an MBA from Distance Learning is that of the classroom study and the knowledge that I students can acquire from the interaction they do with the faculty member on everyday basis. There are proper classes in a Regular MBA, whereas in Distance Learning MBA there are no frequent classes and no interaction with the fellow students and sharing of knowledge and learning.

In distance/ correspondence courses are more about self study where the study material is sent to the student and they understand and learn everything from their own.

Recognition: The prospects of a full time regular management course are better than a correspondence or distance learning course. The acceptability and recognition of a full time course is higher in industry and so the long term career gains are more from a regular MBA course, if compare with the distance program .

Learning: Distance learning courses are basically meant for those who are working and cannot leave their jobs to further their education. The MBA degree is very much requiring for the job promotion or the career growth. The career growth gets stagnant if one does not have a Degree. It is thus an add-on to ones experience and not so much as a stand alone degree. 

Those who follow the distance route need to try harder, fight a lot to get an average jobs, but jobs also are available for those who have the requisite talents, skills, strengths, personality and those who fit into the work culture of the firm. Considering this one must pursue a regular MBA program than just going for distance mode, provided the resources available. One can also consider the distance MBA option in case of Limited resources or incase of time factor for the working executive.

Financial & Economic: Distant MBA is for those students who are financially weak or either don't have enough time to complete regular courses but they want to complete. It depends on the socio economic background of a student to either enroll for the regular MBA program or for the distance MBA program.  Just take an example -A man who is currently doing job and want to get MBA degree then he must apply through Distant MBA, because by that option he would be able to achieve the MBA title with out affecting his work or Job. On the other hand Regular MBA is for regular students who have enough time.

Degree: There is no any difference as far as the degree is concerned because through both modes you get the same degree (As most of the B-school provides MBA degree from UGC in Distance Mode) but it is the experience and competitive environment that you miss while completing MBA through distant learning. You just pass your examinations but you miss the concept that the regular courses provide to you. In regular courses, you experience the competitive environment which inspires you to perform better.

Regards
Team DIMR

Group Discussion Types of GD Preparation Techniques

“Just reading newspaper or watching news on the day of your GD will not be good enough. You must know the background of all the ongoing happenings to contribute fruitfully in the GD”

“Just reading newspaper or watching news on the day of your GD will not be good enough. You must know the background of all the ongoing happenings to contribute 

The B-schools are all set to welcome new batch of students. But before that, the students have to prove their managerial capabilities to the B-schools. To judge your skills and potential, the B-schools conduct Group Discussion rounds. When 10 to 12 students equally fight for one seat in the coveted B-school, you must display the special factor which will separate you from the rest of the lot. In this special series of articles, we will share with you the tips to succeed in a GD round. In the first article of the series, we will share with you the types of GD and methods of preparation.

Types of GD
When you hear the term Group Discussion, the image that comes to your mind is a group of 10 to 12 students seated in a circular or semicircular arrangement and involved in serious discussion. Not all the GDs are same. The topics can be on diverse topics. The common types of topics are Factual, Abstract and Case Study. 

While factual is based on the topics of current and controversial topics. For this, you need to be up with your IQ and current affairs. The topics can be anything from the Politics, Business; Sports etc. 

The abstract topics involve lateral thinking and unconventional perspectives. As the name suggests, these topics can be open to any perception. You can drive the topic towards any direction according to your convenience. Some such topics include ‘Deep Blue is not blue enough’, ‘Be an idiot’, etc. 

In the Case Study based GDs, you will be given a case let on a business, economic or political scenario. The question which is dealt at the end of the discussion is posed from the point of view of the stakeholders. 

Methods to prepare
As the experts opine, the preparation for GD is not a matter of few days. It is a continuous process. The following points will help you prepare for the GD in the remaining days to your GD at a top B-School.

Brush up your GK & Current Affairs
The best method to update your knowledge on current affairs is to read, watch and listen. Read the newspapers and magazines on current issues, specially the year-end issues that capture the highlights of the year gone by. Also watch and listen to the news and current affair programmes on news channels.

Work on your voice   
Your voice is your biggest strength in a GD. You have to modulate in the right way. You should not be too loud, nor should your voice go too soft. Practice on the throw of your voice and know the techniques of controlling. For example, if you are starting the GD, your voice should be louder than usual as many people would like to start the GD. When you see that everyone is listening to you, you should lower your voice a beat. Similarly, your voice should go up during the crests and lower during the troughs of the GD.

Be articulate
You should be articulate enough to put your point across. It often happens that you have a good point in your mind but you are not able to express it due to lack of appropriate words. Hence you should practice speaking and stock up your vocabulary with the right words. You must keep in mind that you should not use any unparliamentarily words or phrases in a GD. Hence along with reading, watching and listening, you must also start speaking. 

Develop your perceptions
This point is specifically helpful for the abstract GD topics. As these GD topics are not direct, you need to first think what would be relevant to the given topic. So you should have the prompt thought process to relate the abstract topic with something more concrete. For this, you need to practice hard. Take the abstract topics which came in the GD of past years and try and relate it with several angles. For example, if the topic is ‘Blue is the new red’, you can relate it with the war between Pepsi and Coca Cola. These perceptions will come after regular and enough practice. So before you brainstorm at the GD, try this at your practice sessions. 

Regards
Team Dimr